India

2014

Appendix I

At least 370 journalists have been murdered in direct connection to their work from the beginning of 2004 through 2013, according to CPJ research. In 333 of the cases, no one has been convicted. In 28 cases, some suspects have been sentenced, or killed in the course of apprehension, but others believed to be connected to or to have ordered the crime remain free. Nine cases have reached complete justice, meaning all of the perpetrators, including the crime’s mastermind, have been convicted. CPJ maintains detailed records on journalists killings from 1992 to the present. For additional information, please visit http://cpj.org/killed.

This month Keya Acharya is responding to a nine-page legal notice demanding she pay 1 billion rupees ($16.3 million) over her article on India's rose industry. Her legal troubles are a window on to a pattern of how big businesses are using India's outdated defamation laws to silence criticism of their operations.

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New York, September 11, 2014--Scores of journalists and media workers were briefly detained Tuesday and Wednesday in India's newly carved state of Telangana after protesting the blocking of two local TV news channels, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detentions and calls on the state's chief minister to stop using incendiary language against the press.

New York, September 8, 2014--An Indian journalist who has been held in police custody for six days was denied bail in court today and faces possible anti-state charges over accusations that he promoted an outlawed separatist group after interviewing its commander, according to news reports.

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Today, the Global Network Initiative launched a campaign to raise awareness on India's Internet laws. The GNI, of which CPJ is a founding member, is a coalition of technology companies--including Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo--and human rights groups and Internet freedom advocates. The coalition, in collaboration with the Internet and Mobile Association of India, has created an interactive slideshow that explains the impact of current laws and regulations on the country’s Internet users.

Earlier this month, Indian authorities arrested seven people for publishing a photo of India's new prime minister, Narendra Modi, alongside figures such as George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden, and Adolf Hitler, under the headline, "Negative Faces." The seven, who could face lengthy prison terms if convicted, are but the latest Indians facing criminal proceedings for their critical views of Modi, a trend that is raising concerns about freedom of expression and press freedom under India's new leadership.

New York, June 9, 2014--Police arrested two suspects on
Sunday in connection with the recent murder of a local journalist in the
eastern Indian state of Odisha, according to news
reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to conduct
a thorough investigation into the murder of Tarun Kumar Acharya, confirm the
motive, and bring the perpetrators to justice.

After languishing in jail for 40 months, Mumbai-based journalist and
activist Sudhir
Dhawale has walked free. Dhawale was the only journalist in jail in India in late 2013, according to CPJ's
annual prison census. With his
release, there are currently no other journalists behind bars in the country for
work-related reasons.